Deathly Magic

by Kessler, A. L.

  "Did you not look into him when you worked with him in regards to the blood-starved vampires?" I raised a brow. "That's not like you."

  He shook his head. "I went on the word of the vampire in that territory. Why?"

  "According to his accomplice he has some hidden agenda with the blood-starved vampires. So the case you helped him solve, wasn't actually solved." I dug in my food bag and pulled out a burger.

  Levi folded his hands and watched me. He made no comment and nothing showed on his face.

  "He also has an obsession with killing me. You don't happen to know what that's about, do you?"

  He snarled enough to show fangs. "No, I don't. I didn't know any of this until you told me. What of his partner?"

  "I haven't heard from her since last night. Accomplice said she wasn't part of it." I bit into my burger. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I smelled the food. Maybe Simon was right and I needed to make more of an effort to eat.

  Levi looked at the cat when he came around the corner. "His partner seemed to be concerned that the case wasn't closed. Tomes wrote it off as new agent paranoia."

  "Because it worked in his favor. He arranged for me to be kidnapped at the press conference. Those vampires meant to kill me, the talk about keeping me alive I think was just for show." At the thought of being thrown from the car my body started to ache. I didn't want to relive that again.

  "I should kill him." Levi met my gaze. "I won't since he is part of your investigation and I know you need him alive, but I should kill him for almost ending your life."

  "I'm a big witch, Levi, I can fight my own battles." I promised and continued eating. "I'm doing more with Greg on his missing werewolf case. We found the woman and now I'm helping him track down who took her."

  Levi nodded. "He informed me earlier today when he called to check in. He said you were making progress."

  At least he was speaking highly of me. "There's a witch in town who's strong enough to block my magic from a typical tracking spell."

  "It's just been a hell of a week for you, hasn't it?" He chuckled. "I have a feeling there's more about this witch."

  "She claims to have a cure for lycanthropy. She promised the woman she could cure it for the price of killing Greg and Simon. I didn't tell them because I don't want them to think that Martha was going to betray them." I finished the burger.

  He picked up the cat and scratched his ear. "And what do you think?"

  "I think it was all a ploy to get her and possibly her sister to kill the leaders of the pack. Promise them something they most desire to get them to do something drastic." I threw my trash away. "It's a simple tactic. If someone wants something enough, they are blinded."

  "And the question is, what is the witch to gain from this?"

  "I have no idea."

  A knock came at the door and I looked at my watch. Shit, I'd forgotten about the Craigslist person. Levi motioned to the door and I took that to mean he wasn't going to leave.

  I walked across the living room and opened the door. A woman stood there with a shotgun slung over her back. Her hair was a natural red and made her green eyes that much more vibrant. The locks tumbled over her shoulders. She was shorter than me, but the confidence she held standing on my doorstep would be enough to make most people shrink.

  My gaze flickered to the shotgun and then to her. "Um, come in." I stepped out of her way. I hadn't had time to prepare the spell, but something told me this woman wasn't going to try and con me out of a naked cat. Osiris jumped up the couch and meowed at the woman.

  "I'm Kelsey." She held out the hand that wasn't occupied by a coffee cup.

  I shook her hand. "A shotgun, huh?" I asked with a smile. I could appreciate a woman that carried a gun, but a shotgun might have been overkill in this situation.

  She glanced at Levi and then back to me. "You can never be too careful and I'm a damn fine shot."

  No one was going to mess with her. "That's the cat there." I motioned to Osiris who was now sleeping on the couch.

  "Oh, he's got the similar unique markings of mine, but he's not mine." She sighed. "My little one is missing the cat so much."

  I picked Osiris up. "Do you want to take him home? I haven't been able to find the proper owner.” He might have just been abandoned. He jumped out of my arms and back on the couch.

  She shook her head. "He looks happy here and she'll notice it's a different cat. They're just different enough. Thank you though."

  "Take care of yourself Kelsey, thanks for being honest." I walked back to the door and opened it for her. "I hope you find your cat."

  "Me too." She took a sip of her coffee and walked out.

  Levi came to my side and we both watched to make sure she got to her car safely.

  "She was brave bringing a shotgun with her." Levi turned towards me.

  I shook my head. "I've heard the stories of Craigslist, people go in for an item and come out dead. It happens more often than it should. No one would dare mess with her." I went back to my food. "I guess I'm the new proud owner of a cat."

  "It's an...interesting cat." Levi said.

  Interesting didn't even cover it. It was a naked cat with markings. It was the strangest cat I'd seen, but research said it was normal, just not show quality. "You didn't have to come down here just to talk to me about Tomes."

  "It worries me that he has such an interest in you and in zombies and he was able to hide it from so many people. Until now."

  I nodded. "I'll bring him in soon, as soon as I can find him."

  "And where is Nick on all of this?" His face was back to the blank careful mask that he used when he was dealing with subjects he didn't like.

  I shrugged. "He was at a different cemetery when I was attacked by zombies, and then he was at the station to help me with the women. We haven't made a plan yet."

  "Be safe."

  "You know something about this, don't you?" I glared at him.

  He smiled. "Vampire business, don't worry. I'll let you handle him. The rest of it, I'll deal with."

  I hoped that meant no more random attacks from the rampaging vampires, but I never could be sure when it came to Levi. I should have told him what the vampire who kidnapped me had said, but I pushed it off. "Thank you for letting me do my job."

  "This is the second big case this year that has hit close to home." He pointed out. "It's only been a few years, but you should consider retiring."

  I knew he was joking, for the most part. "I was thinking a vacation."

  "Another one so soon? I thought the one Simon sent you on really helped you relax." Levi laughed. "Clarissa said something about a book festival in the fall."

  That could be fun, if I could get away from work. "Maybe I'll tag along."

  "I'm going home now. Call if you need me. If I don't answer, assume I'm taking care of our blood-starved vampire problem." He disappeared.

  I didn't want to imagine what he needed to do to take care of the problem. I checked the locks on my door and went to bed. It was early in the evening, but I was tired and chances were someone was going to wake me up in a few hours.

  The sun was rising when I finally woke. Osiris was curled against my side purring. No one had called me in over eight hours. I had a moment of panic thinking my phone was broken. When I stood, my body protested. Almost everything was back to tolerable except for my rib. I went straight to my bag and downed the rest of the potion.

  I paused when I went in the hallway. I heard noises in my living room. I went back and got my gun. Creeping down the hallway, I listened for any sign of an actual intruder, but the noises I heard sounded like muffled news. My heart skipped a beat as I rounded the corner and caught sight of a man sitting on my couch.

  "Dammit Oliver, I should just shoot your ass." I lowered my gun. I knew it was him from the back. His clean-cut hair hadn't changed over the last six months and he wore an expensive suit that I could see peeking over the back of the couch as he relaxed.

  "You changed yo
ur locks."

  "You picked my new ones." I growled at him. "It's early, what are you doing here?"

  He stood and walked over to me. "Wondering why my niece is all over the news in regards to a fire and zombies."

  "I thought you knew everything." I went over to the coffee maker and started to make me a pot. "I was in a tight spot."

  He laughed. "Oh, Abby, what happened to you never wanting to use it? This is what? Twice in a week?"

  I didn't know he knew about the first zombie. "I was in a protective circle surrounded by zombies. Facing a necromancer that is much more powerful and experienced than I am."

  "Necromancers are rare and Levi doesn't allow them in the territory." He seemed so matter of fact and seated himself at my breakfast bar.

  I crossed my arms and leaned against the counter by the coffee pot. "Levi didn't know what he was."

  "You've been busy, you need to come up and train." He tapped his hand on the counter top. "The more you use the ability the more likely you are to lose control."

  And that thought terrified us both. I should have been more careful, but only people who were trained would see that there was something unusual about the situations. I'd seen what happened to Devon when he started to lose control and go insane. "I know. I have two cases right now. I can try for this evening. You know you could have picked up a phone and called me."

  "And miss this chance to have coffee with you?" He motioned to the coffee pot that had just finished brewing.

  "You bugged my house didn't you?" I turned to get the coffee ready and resisted throwing a mug at his head.

  "You should get a security system or protect it with stronger magic."

  I was going to take that as a yes. I'd have to find the little devices and destroy them. "It's on my list." I brought the full mugs to the bar. I used the sugar container there to pour some in my mug. "As I've pointed out, I've been busy."

  "I actually came to see how your rib was doing." He sipped his coffee. "I am concerned that you might be letting it affect your better judgment in what you can fight against or must protect against."

  "I couldn't have taken on a grave yard full of zombies even if my rib was healed." I went and got the milk out of the fridge and realized there was none. When was the last time I had even made coffee from home?

  "Let me heal it for you. If you're going to go after the necromancer he's going to know that you're hurt. You don't want him to use that to his advantage."

  I thought about how Agent Tomes had arranged the whole car accident and abduction. "Okay. You're right."

  His brows shot up. "The mighty Abigail admitting that someone else is right?"

  "Don't make me shoot you." I ground out. "How does this work?"

  "Get me a bowl of water."

  I downed part of my coffee, went to the sink and filled a bowl. I brought it back and set it on the countertop.

  He dipped his hand into it. "Lift your shirt."

  I lifted it enough to show the rib. The swelling had gone down, but the black and purple bruise was still hanging on.

  He put his palm against the bruise and pressed. I hissed at the pain, but I didn't pull back. He started chanting and the water absorbed into my skin.

  I could feel warmth spread through the rib and ease away the pain. "Holy cow. That's amazing."

  He removed his hand and the bruise was gone. "People already know you did your part, so no one will ask about it. Witches heal fast, so they can attribute it to that."

  "Thank you."

  "You can thank me by showing up tonight and working hard at your training." He took another sip of his coffee. "I hear you're working with the local wolf pack, make sure they don't eat you."

  I snorted. "I'm not concerned. The last known werewolf attack was almost ten years ago."

  "That's the key, that you know of." He finished his coffee and stood. He went and put his cup in the sink. "I'll see you tonight."

  I nodded. "Tonight. Thank you again, Oliver."

  "Have a good day." He let himself out.

  Osiris came out of the bedroom and meowed. "Because, Osiris," I said as if the cat asked me a question, "One must make sure to keep a crazy magical talent under control. So I need him."

  He meowed again and went over to his food dish.

  "Yeah yeah, I know, you're hungry." I went and fed him.

  It was time to get ready for my day. I had a necromancer to find, a witch to learn more about, and training with my crazy uncle tonight. It was going to be a long day.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  I walked into the office and found Nick sitting at his desk. He leaned towards the screen of his computer in deep thought. His back was hunched as he typed furiously on the computer.

  "Something interesting?" I threw my bag against my desk.

  "Nothing, that's the problem. The files on Tomes all disappeared and I can't even find old addresses, nothing."

  A woman cleared her voice. "Maybe I can shed some light on that."

  I looked up to see Agent Grace standing there. "Where the hell have you been and when were you planning on telling us that your partner was a necromancer?"

  "When it was relevant to my case." She stated. She held more confidence to her as she strolled into the office. "I had them pulled because they were all fabricated and false. It's taken me two years to personally track down and check every piece of information."

  I raised a brow. "I feel like this goes a lot further than him just raising zombies and knowing about the blood-starved vampires."

  "You have no idea Abigail, and I'm here to help you two track him down and end both of those cases." She smiled.

  I leaned back in my chair and admired her. She'd managed to create her own cover and now she had gone from unsure rookie to kick-ass PIB agent. I was ashamed I hadn't even had a clue she wasn't who she seemed. "Let's start with you explaining your role in all of this."

  "It's simple, really. I was hired by internal affairs to investigate Tomes. They helped me create a new identity and wiped my old one from the system. I was to pose as a rookie and was assigned as his partner. I reported back when able and we were just waiting for something else to happen." She sat in the chair in the front of my desk.

  I glanced at Nick. My paranoia made me wonder if he had been placed here for a reason as well. He folded his arms and watched Melody with a blank face. No sign of him being a spy. I looked back at Melody. "What was he suspected of?"

  "Going against the vampire king, and of course the government because of that."

  The vampire king was someone who was rarely spoken of. Vampires were the only supernatural creatures who had voted to have a king over all of them. One who worked with the governments of all countries to rule over the creatures. No one called him by his name, but he was like the boogieman of vampires. The real big badass of them all. "That's a pretty big crime." I tapped my fingers on my desk. "Levi said he'd cleared Tomes with another vampire in that territory."

  "We've kept the suspicions under wraps. If it were to get out then it'd be an instant death sentence for Tomes. Most likely carried out by the vampires."

  And we all knew it was easy for supernatural creatures to get away with murder. "Understandable. And you had no idea that he was a necromancer?"

  "We're still trying to figure out who he really is. He has to be working with someone equally as powerful as internal investigations, because everything about him was fabricated. Everything. So no, necromancy wasn't listed as one of his skills." She shook her head. "But we need your help on this. Yours and Nick’s. We have no idea where to find him. He's strong enough to block tracking spells and to hide his magic."

  I leaned back in my chair. "We were hoping to draw him out. His associate told me that he wanted me dead. We don't know why. I don't particularly care, he's a threat and he needs to be taken down." Truth was, I wanted to know why he wanted me dead.

  "So you're going to go about your business and hope that he comes after you?" She pressed her lips togeth
er but then nodded. "It might work. Your partner needs to stay low, but we'll both stick close to you."

  My phone went off and I glanced at it. Simon's name and picture flashed on my screen. I picked up the phone. "Agent Collins speaking."

  "Abby, Rachel's gone, two of the pups are dead in a ritual. I need you here."

  His voice was calm, but there was a fine tremor escaping. I glanced at Melody and Nick. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Don't let anyone into the area." I disconnected the call and stood. I grabbed my bag from the floor. "I'll check in with you guys later. I have a personal emergency that's come up."

  I ran out the door and to the stairs. I took them two by two and slowed down only when I heard Nick calling my name.

  He caught up to me quickly. "What's going on?"

  "I have to go help Simon with something." I kept walking to the Hummer.

  "Your boyfriend is the personal emergency?" I could hear the annoyance in his voice.

  "We have a serial killer case and a rogue necromancer. We have no motive behind what he's doing and he wants your head."

  "Do you think that's unusual for me? When you first met me, I was working a case where I had a hex put on me." I spun to face him. "Your brother trapped me in a burning building, I've had two cars blown up and people keep managing to get into my house. Simon currently has two dead bodies and a missing pack member. I can't work the case as a PIB agent, so I'm going to go help a friend."

  His brows creased. "Two dead bodies? What the hell is going on up there, Abby? What do Levi and Greg have you mixed up in?"

  I wasn't aware that he knew the pack leaders’ names, but now was not the time to question. "What makes you think either of them have anything to do with this?"

  "PIB may turn a blind eye, but I know you work for Levi as well."

  My heart jumped and I clenched my fists. "There are cases we can't take as agents. I'm damn good at what I do. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go."

  He nodded. "Be careful. I don't want you hurt."

  The concern in his voice touched me. "I will. Thank you. I'll call you if I happen to see Tomes."